Chapter 4
Ginger
Present
My gaze darted to the back door of the bar. Could I make it? The urge to flee was surging through my body, but I was still frozen in place. So many thoughts flashed through my mind as I tried to come up with a rational excuse for why Rebel was there, leaving me with a sick feeling in my belly. I couldn't fight him and win, I knew I couldn't, yet when he finally took that last step into the light and I saw the gleam in his eyes, I knew that I would have to try. I wouldn't go back. He'd have to kill me first.
Our eyes locked. I couldn't read anything from his expression. As hopelessness overwhelmed me I made a mad dash for the door. He caught me, as I’d known he would. I was able to let out a scream before he slapped a hand over my mouth, and then he was dragging me back into the shadows with him. I struggled against him with the fear of an animal that was trapped with nowhere to go.
"Ssshhh!" he shushed me in my ear, the powerful arms surrounding me like an inescapable vice. "I'm not going to hurt you, angel."
"I'm not going back with you!" I hated the fear in my voice, I hated giving him that. With his powerful arms locked around me he easily kept me subdued.
He grunted when one of my elbows jabbed him in the ribs. "I've been looking for you for four years."
Oh, God! I closed my eyes, trembling at the soft words he'd uttered into my ear, the warmth and solidness of his hard body seeping into me. Infuriatingly, I was reminded of the way he'd made me feel all those years ago, and how quickly he'd turned an innocent girl into a wild and wanton whore. He'd had that powerful effect on me. No other man ever had. I'd been helpless against his experience, and he'd known exactly how to play my body.
"I mean it, Rebel." I’d never thought that I would see him again, and his name sounded strange on my lips. "You'll have to kill me before I let you drag me back to the Red Devils!" I dug my nails into his arms, hoping that he would release me, but all he did was grunt and tighten his arms around me until I could barely breathe. When I threw my head back he snarled, spun me around, and grabbed me by the hair, walking me backwards to the side of the building, where he crushed me with his much larger body.
"Did you forget that I was the one who got you out of there? I didn't come here to take you back," he rasped, pinning me easily. "Now stop!"
I remembered that, but why was he here then? His sudden appearance rendered me unable to think clearly. "I don't believe you!" I whispered, my panic growing as everything I'd been forced to go through at the Red Devils’ clubhouse came back to me full force. "You're one of them!"
"I was never one of them," he said roughly. "Why do you think I helped you escape?"
He had helped me escape. He'd snuck me out of the Red Devils' clubhouse and taken me to his place, telling me to wait for his return. I would have followed his instructions if some of the Red Devils hadn't shown up. I'd been forced to sneak out of a back window and run. I'd gone straight to the bus station.
But that was then, and this was now, and I was convinced that he was here to take me back. "Then why have you come for me if not to bring me back to Wildman?"
"There is no more Wildman, or the Red Devils," he gritted out, trapping my legs between his when I made an attempt to raise my knee. "Wildman's dead, and so is his club."
Dead? I slowly ceased my struggles as I took that in. Was this a trick, or had the rumors that I'd heard actually been true? Had I been running from them all this time for nothing? I wanted to believe Rebel, I wanted to believe that I didn't need to look over my shoulder anymore, that I didn't need to keep running. "How . . . why . . . " I couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence.
He laughed at my expense, but I was more concerned about why he was there. Suddenly it occurred to me that he was probably looking for the money I'd stolen. I'd found it as I’d snooped around his apartment, and had left it alone at first, until the Red Devils had shown up. Then I'd needed it to get away. "You're here for the money I borrowed." I let myself relax against him. It couldn't be for anything else.
He snorted. "Yeah, borrowed." There was a slight pause before he murmured, "Among other things."
I wondered what those “other things” could be before I shifted my thoughts back to the money that I owed Rebel. The money that I'd been squirreling away since I’d made my escape was only about half of the four thousand that I'd taken.
After a few minutes of silence I began to notice things about him that seemed way too intimate in the moment--the feel of his warm, whiskey-scented breath against my face; the scent of leather and smoke that clung to his large and threatening body, mixed with something else, something that was all Rebel, his personal essence and my personal drug.
Four years hadn't done anything to diminish his appeal to me.
I closed my eyes, thankful that he couldn't see me clearly. I had to get a grip and ignore how easily he had made me want him again. All those years ago, when he'd been forced to take my virginity, it had been too easy for Rebel. I'd barely put up a resistance when he'd seduced me with his experience and the unspoken promise that he wouldn't hurt me. I'd lost myself to him the instant that he'd put his rough hands on me.
"I don't have all of your money," I finally said, deciding to be honest with him.
"We can talk about that later. Is this where you work?"
"Yes."
"What time do you get off?"
"As soon as I'm done cleaning up."
"Do you have a way home?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Good. I'll wait for you here and take you home." He released a tired breath. "I need a place to crash and get some sleep."
I stiffened, realizing that he intended to go home with me. "What about my boyfriend?" I didn't have a boyfriend, but I didn't want Rebel to think that he could just come into my life and take over. I wasn't ready to trust him.
"You don't have a boyfriend," he said, surprising me. "If you did he'd be here to pick you up." I could detect the mild amusement in his tone. "Now go inside and finish up so we can get the hell out of here."
I resisted his attempt to pull me away from the wall, tugging back. "You can't just show up after four years and start ordering me around. We're nothing to each other." I may have been a frightened virgin when we’d met, but the last few years had taught me how to stand up and fight for myself. "I'm not afraid of you, Rebel."
His gruff laugh sent chills down my spine. "I can see that."
"And I don't want anything to do with you." That was a lie, but a necessary one. How many times had I found myself yearning to see him? To be with him again?
"Are you forgetting about the money you took?"
God, I had! "I only have half right now." I'd always known that there was a possibility that he would come after me for the money, but as more time had gone by, I'd convinced myself that he was either dead or he just didn't care. I was relieved that he was still alive, but it meant that he was going to take every penny that I'd managed to put away for an emergency.
"That's too bad, I want it all."
"You'll have to give me time‒"
"So you can run away again? I don't think so. I think I'm going to stay right here, with you, until you pay me back."
I held my breath, afraid that he was serious. Running away from him hadn't even entered my mind, it wasn’t why I'd run the first time. If what Rebel had said was true about Wildman, than I could finally put down roots and have a halfway normal life.
Maybe I could go back to school…
"Look--" He pulled me away from the wall and led me to the back door. "It's too late to get into everything right now, and I'm too fucking tired. You look like you're about to drop. So go do what you need to do so we can get the hell out of here."
The light was better at the back door, allowing me the opportunity to see how exhausted Rebel appeared. It matched the weariness in his voice. He looked as if he'd been on the road for a while, his clothes showed signs of road sludge and other unidentifiable stains, and he looked haggard. Yet none of it took away from his rugged handsomeness, the square cut of his strong jaw and the sensual softness of his lips that had captivated me from the beginning. He exuded outlaw danger, and instilled fear in me because I knew what he was capable of.
His hair was longer than I’d remembered, brushing against his shoulders, and there was a scar across his cheek that he hadn't had before, but it was the vivid blue of his eyes that had haunted me over the years. Right now they were focused on me in a hard, unyielding stare of determination. Without another word, he opened the door and ushered me inside.
I paused just inside the doorway and took a deep breath. Rebel was right. I was ready to drop and I was too tired to try and figure anything out.
"Is Della okay?" Lola asked, meeting my gaze as I walked further into the bar.
"Poor thing was retching before we got to her car," I said, picking up the rag that I'd been using to wipe down tables. "Whatever she has came on fast."
"Some illnesses are like that," she said as if she were an expert. "I'm done and heading out.” She came to a jerking halt and gave me a thoughtful look. "Do you have a ride home?"
I thought about Rebel and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. See you tomorrow."
She rolled her eyes. "Thank God Bike Week is almost over! My feet are numb!"
I could relate. Tomorrow was the last day. Vinny would close the bar on Monday so we could recoup from the killer week. After that, we'd all be back on our regular shifts and days off. Thank God! I returned to the table Della and I had been in the process of cleaning when she’d gotten sick and went back to wiping it down. I hoped that she’d made it home okay.
"Where'd Della go?" Vinny hollered across the room, stepping back out from his office.
"She got sick." I began lifting the chairs and turning them over on top of the table.
"Sick?" he scoffed. "She’d better feel better by two o'clock tomorrow and have her ass here." I rolled my eyes and decided that it would take too much effort to respond to his insensitive remark. It wasn't like him. The long hours were obviously getting to him, too. "What time did she leave? I need to mark it down, because I'm not paying her for the whole hour."
I slammed the last chair down and glared at him. He was behind the bar with Stevie, pulling the money out of the register.
I couldn't help it, I lost my temper. "Are you kidding me? We've been working our asses off all week with no time off and barely a break, and you're going to dock her for half an hour?" I looked at Stevie. "Is he for real?"
She shook her head. "Sad but true." She didn't agree with his comment either, that was clear from the twist of her lips.
Vinny finally glanced up from the register, taking in our disgusted expressions. "What?"
I rolled my eyes, fighting the urge to throw a chair at him.
"You're an ass," Stevie said, taking the words right out of my mouth. She could get away with it because they were dating.
"I'm tired," he said in his own defense.
Weren't we all?
I decided not to waste my breath and continued cleaning my tables and stacking chairs. The murmur of their voices suggested that they were still discussing it, and I had to wonder how much pull Stevie had over Vinny. When the bar was open they kept a strict working relationship between them, but this was after hours and their interaction with each other was very different. It was kind of fun to watch. Stevie wasn't afraid to put Vinny in his place.
The entrance door opened and two men ambled inside. Realizing that someone had forgotten to lock the door after the last customer, I exchanged a look with Stevie. She and Vinny had stopped arguing and had glanced up.
"We're closed," Vinny said, drawing their attention. I rolled my eyes. Would it have killed him to say, "sorry" first? "Ginger was just about to lock the door."
That was my cue to head toward the two men and hopefully usher them out the door and lock it behind them. They halted as I approached, crooked smiles and bloodshot eyes roaming over me and giving me a chill. They were bikers, or dressed as, one short with an obvious beer gut, while the other was tall and lanky. I tried to keep the smile on my face as I waited for them to turn around and leave.
"We just want one drink," the short man belched. How did someone talk and burp at the same time?
"Too bad, we're closed. Come back tomorrow."
The taller man made a point of looking around the bar. The other waitresses had already left, it was just Stevie, Vinny, and me. I began to get a bad feeling when the two strangers exchanged meaningful looks, then released a breath of relief when the short one shrugged and then they both turned around. "Okay."
Well, that had been easy. Except that nothing was ever that easy. When they reached the door the shorter man reached up and turned the lock before both of them spun back around to face us. They wore matching smirks. "Guess since you don't want to serve us a drink we'll just take your money." He pinned his eyes on me. "And maybe your women."
I froze inside when I realized that we were being robbed. His second threat didn't worry me as much, I assumed that it had been said as a way to stress how serious the situation was to Vinny. Vinny's expression revealed his anger and disbelief, and I prayed that he showed some smarts. Stevie, her face turning pale, stepped slightly behind him, and I immediately felt a rush of sympathy for her. I knew what she was thinking. She'd shared with me that, years before, she had been beaten and raped during a robbery.
It was hard to determine which man was in charge, but when they both pulled out guns it no longer mattered. I didn't move, hoping not to bring attention to myself once the robbers were focused on Vinny, waiting to see what he was going to do. Vinny hit the register, the money drawer shot open, and he stepped back and raised his hands.
"Take it and leave." He knew about Stevie's past, he knew her fears and what she must have been thinking. I gave him credit for being sensitive to that by acting sensibly.
"Wow, Chuck," the short one laughed, heading behind the bar, "I wonder if he'll be that agreeable when it comes to the women." He shot his partner a sneer just as he was about to reach inside the register drawer for the money.
The taller man remained by me, his gun trained towards the bar. "I know which one I want." I saw his head turn my way out of the corner of my eye and refused to acknowledge it. "She's got nice, big tits."
I kept my gaze on Stevie, seeing the panic in her eyes. She looked as if she was about to be sick. I couldn't blame her. I was afraid for both of us. When the heavy-set robber looked her way with a cocky smirk on his whiskered face, she broke. She screamed and brought a bottle down over his head, shattering it and coating him with liquor and glass. At the same time Vinny slammed the money drawer closed on the man’s hand, while grabbing for the weapon that he had in the other hand. Stevie grabbed the bat that she kept behind the bar for this very reason and began pummeling down on the man's head without mercy while Vinny aimed the gun at the second robber.
My gaze swung to the other man, who'd yet to show any reaction to what was going down. Everything had happened so fast. I realized my precarious position and instantly turned to flee, but I didn't get far. A long arm wrapped around my waist and I was hauled up against the robber's body as he swung back around toward the bar, using me as a shield. I was thankful that no one fired their weapons.
"You're coming with me, bitch!" he snarled into my ear, lifting my feet off the ground as he began to walk backwards to the door.
"Let her go!" Vinny shouted, taking aim.
"She's my ticket out of here."
Vinny surprised everyone by firing his gun toward the floor. "You hear that?" he snarled. "The cops will be here within minutes! Now let her go!"
The man who was squeezing me to the front of him released a snort. "No fucking way! She comes with me." His friend, who was lying on the floor, let out a loud moan. Stevie glanced down and hit him again with her bat.
"Where I come from, it's an eye for an eye," the man who was holding me grumbled. "You got one of mine, I take one of yours. She's prettier than Hank." My eyes grew round when he nuzzled his scratchy jaw against the side of my neck, his nose inhaling deeply. "Sure smells better. Bet she tastes good, too." The entire time he was speaking he was dragging me backwards.
I began to claw at his arms, realizing that there wasn't much Stevie and Vinny could do to keep him from taking me. It was obvious that Vinny wasn't going to shoot at the man, he was probably afraid that he'd shoot me by mistake, and I could only guess at why the robber, Chuck, wasn't using his gun to escape. But just as that thought went through my head he fired, but it was a wild shot because he was still pulling me with him.
I glanced at the bar with fear, just in time to see Stevie and Vinny drop down behind it. The fact that police sirens could be heard in the distance revealed that they were on their way. That urged the man to pick up his speed. He shot another round toward the bar just as we neared the door. I decided then that I wasn't going to go willingly and kicked back at him, digging my nails into him once again. He tightened his arm with a snarl.
"Fuck!" he huffed, giving me a squeeze. "I'm going to enjoy taming you, bitch!" He reached behind us and turned the lock on the door.
I began to struggle against him wildly, realizing that once he got me outside that anything could happen. I leaned down and bit the hell out of him. "Let. Me. Go." I hissed, fear surging through me. He nudged the door open and continued to pull me with him. We didn't make it outside.
"Let. Her. Go." The sound of a gun being cocked seemed overloud in the room. Chuck froze, and I turned my head enough to see that there was the barrel of a gun against his temple. From there I noticed the tanned hand, the tattoos across the top of each finger that spelled the word “kill.” My gaze traveled up a muscular arm, over a shoulder, and up to the face and eyes of the man standing behind us.
I caught my breath at the ruthless expression on Rebel's chiseled features, the hardness that had turned his eyes into a rigid, ice blue that could stab right through an opponent. He met my gaze and gave me a wink. His close proximity forced Chuck to take a step forward so that Rebel could enter the bar. I felt the arm around my body slacken and I eagerly stepped away.
"Take his gun, sweetheart." I snatched the weapon out of Chuck's hand and moved far enough away so that he couldn't reach me. "You alone here?"
"No."
Hearing us, Vinny and Stevie slowly rose to their feet.
The sirens drew closer.
"Fuck, man, am I glad to see you," Vinny said in a familiar tone that revealed that he knew Rebel. "You have a way of showing up when I need you the most." He turned toward Stevie. Her color had returned, but she still held a tight grip on the slightly bloody bat in her hands. Vinny pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. "Go wait for me back in my office, babe. Relax and catch your breath." She gave him a smile of gratitude and disappeared.
"You're going to have to start paying me for my services," Rebel joked with a grin, forcing Chuck face first against the wall. "Put your hands on the wall above your head, asshole." Chuck complied. "Move and it will be your last," Rebel threatened. He looked back at Vinny.
"Robbery?" Vinny nodded, reaching down for the man at his feet. "Yeah, bastards thought it was going to be easy." He dragged him around the bar and dumped him onto the floor. Stevie had done a number on him, I was proud of her. That reminded me that she was alone in Vinny's office.
"I should go to Stevie."
"You're coming with me." Rebel took me by the hand, took the gun out of my other hand, and walked me over to Vinny, handing him the weapon. "The cops will be here any second, and I'd rather not hang around to answer any questions."
Vinny's brows furrowed as his gaze shot back and forth between me and Rebel. "You two know each other?"
"Yeah." Rebel didn't elaborate. "I'll see that Ginger gets home, that's where I'll be staying. We'll talk tomorrow."
I could see that Vinny had questions, but there was no time. The screech of tires outside the bar revealed that the cops had arrived, just as we were stepping out the back door into the darkness.